Imagine Saving More Than 50% on Gas

The Obama Administration’s fuel
efficiency standards will nearly double fuel economy to 54.5 miles per
gallon by 2025. Environmental Defense Fund economist Beia Spiller crunched the
numbers, and it turns out that if the standards were enforced today, every
automobile driving citizen would spend a staggering 55% less on gas.

“The
calculations I did assumed a total of 11,218 miles driven per year, current
average efficiency of 20.98 miles per gallon, and gasoline prices at $3.50,”
Beia explained. “If today’s fleet efficiency was at 54.5mpg (and driving
patterns only change due to a rebound effect), then the average driver would
save $1,035 per year on the cost of gas.”

2025 can’t come
soon enough!

Beia’s numbers
first appeared earlier this week in a quiz on the NPR show “Marketplace.”